Learning and Strategic Product Innovation: Volume 37
Theory and Evidence for the Semiconductor Industry
Published on 17. February 1994
Book
Hardback
212 pages
978-0-444-81774-7 (ISBN)
Description
The aim of this book is to highlight a number of separate issues in the analysis of product innovation and the implications for firm behaviour. This is done by taking a close look at the semiconductor industry, where product innovation is undertaken frequently and the innovation cycles unfold in very short periods of time. There are three main themes; the first theme concerns the evolution of market share patterns, the time profile of which has shown a striking regularity and persistence over successive generations of products. A game theoretic model generates equilibrium results consistent with the basic facts observed. The second theme is about the relevance of the "learning by doing" concept in the production of semiconductors estimating the learning curve. The third theme addresses the relevance of trade policy in innovative industries. It is argued that protectionist trade policies have powerful implications for leadership product innovation.
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
United States
Publishing group
Elsevier Science & Technology
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Illustrations
1
Weight
530 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-444-81774-7 (9780444817747)
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Schweitzer Classification
Person
Content
Introduction. Product Innovation and Evolution of Market Structure. Some stylised facts from the EPROM market. A survey of the literature on product differentiation and innovation. A model of vertical product differentiation. The diffusion of new products. Learning spillovers. Conclusions. Learning and Product Innovation: The Case of Semiconductor Memory Chips. A survey of the literature on the learning curve. Past empirical research on the learning curve. The learning curve for memory chips at industry level. The learning curve at the firm level. A digression: DRAM production and economies of scale. Implications of the learning curve for the firm's strategies. A theoretical framework for the process-product matrix. Conclusions. Product Innovation and Trade Policy. The literature on trade policy with differentiated products. Vertical product differentiation and product innovation: the two-firm case. Vertical product differentiation and product innovation: the three-firm case. Trade policy regimes and their effects on product innovation. Market access and frictions in semiconductor trade. Summary of the main theoretical results. Conclusions. Appendix I: Proof of Propositions 1,2, and 3. Appendix II: Technical Description of Semiconductors. The classification of semiconductors. MOS memory chips. The manufacturing of integrated circuits. Yield modelling in semiconductor production. Appendix III: The Learning Curve by Generations of Memory Chips. Appendix IV: Analytical Derivations of Subgame Perfect Equilibria. References. Index.